{"id":807,"date":"2019-04-02T01:03:08","date_gmt":"2019-04-02T01:03:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.atu.edu\/morelan\/?page_id=807"},"modified":"2022-03-30T15:35:19","modified_gmt":"2022-03-30T15:35:19","slug":"professional-learning-communities-plcs","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.atu.edu\/morelan\/professional-learning-communities-plcs\/","title":{"rendered":"Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8220;One of the most underused resources available to educators is the community of colleagues with whom they work.&#8221;<\/em> (Caine and Caine, 2010). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And that&#8217;s what <strong>Professional Learning Communities<\/strong> are all about! This <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ascd.org\/publications\/educational-leadership\/may04\/vol61\/num08\/What-Is-a-Professional-Learning-Community%C2%A2.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">PLC overview<\/a> from ASCD provides more information on the &#8220;what&#8221; and &#8220;why&#8221; of Professional Learning Communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition, the Arkansas Department of Education has provided this short <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/bespokevideoproduction\/review\/256755572\/3e193a026c\" target=\"_blank\">PLC informational video<\/a> to support the PLC process. While a portion of this presentation focuses specifically on the Solution Tree program in P-12 schools, the fundamental principles apply to Professional Learning Communities at all levels &#8230; from Pre-School through Higher Education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One additional resource is this <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/video.atu.edu\/media\/Professional+Learning+Communities\/1_knoz2wgd\" target=\"_blank\">PLC panel discussion<\/a> where several ATU professors review the PLC process and talk about its importance as part of a collaborative, supportive school culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Developing a PLC is an ongoing process that starts with <strong><span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">Three Big Ideas<\/span><\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>A focus on learning<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>A collaborative culture (collective responsibility)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>An orientation on results<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <strong><span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">Six Core Principles<\/span><\/strong> of a PLC are &#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Shared vision, mission, values, and goals<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Collaborative teams focused on learning <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Collective inquiry<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Action orientation and experimentation<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Commitment to continuous improvement<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Results (outcomes) orientation<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whether it&#8217;s a department-level team, a district-level team, a building-level team, or a content-based team, the members of a PLC should always be working collaboratively to answer these <strong><span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">Four Essential Questions<\/span><\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>What do we want our students to learn?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>How will we know if each student learns it?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>How will we respond when some students have <em>not<\/em>&nbsp;learned it?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>How can we extend learning for students who already know it?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To be truly effective, every PLC meeting must be have a clear goal, and at least one of the four essential questions must be addressed each time. It&#8217;s also important for PLC meetings to occur regularly. Properly implemented, this process can help educators maintain a sustained focus on learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.atu.edu\/morelan\/files\/2022\/03\/Professional-Learning-Community-Graphic.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">PLC&#8217;s In Action<\/a> mini-poster provides a visual reference on the ideas, principles, and questions listed above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finally, the <span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\"><strong>Six Steps<\/strong><\/span> of the PLC <span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\"><strong>Process<\/strong><\/span> are &#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Identify Essential Standards<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Creating Pacing Guides (unit guides)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Create Common Assessments<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Administer Common Assessments<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Collect and Analyze Data<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Apply Interventions and Extensions<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>References<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Caine, G. and Caine, R. (2010).&nbsp;<i>Strengthening and enriching your professional learning community<\/i>. Alexandria, Va.: ASCD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R., Many, T., &amp; Mattos, M. (2016).&nbsp;<em>Learning by Doing<\/em>. Bloomington: Solution Tree Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span id=\"js-reference-string-1\" class=\"selectable\">DuFour, R. (2004).&nbsp;<i>What Is a Professional Learning Community? &#8211; Educational Leadership<\/i>. [online] ASCD.org.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mattos, et al (2016). <em>Concise Answers to Frequently Asked Questions About Professional Learning Communities at Work.<\/em> Bloomington: Solution Tree Press.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;One of the most underused resources available to educators is the community of colleagues with whom they work.&#8221; (Caine and Caine, 2010). And that&#8217;s what Professional Learning Communities are all about! This PLC overview from ASCD provides more information on the &#8220;what&#8221; and &#8220;why&#8221; of Professional Learning Communities. In addition, the Arkansas Department of Education [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":96,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-807","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.atu.edu\/morelan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.atu.edu\/morelan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.atu.edu\/morelan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.atu.edu\/morelan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/96"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.atu.edu\/morelan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=807"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.atu.edu\/morelan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/807\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2221,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.atu.edu\/morelan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/807\/revisions\/2221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.atu.edu\/morelan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}